Name of the field of biology the study of life in the universe. Exobiology?
Snippets from Nature’s past.
ETH researchers have developed a new gene switch that can be activated using a commercially available nitroglycerine patch applied to the skin. One day, researchers want to use switches of this kind to trigger cell therapies for various metabolic diseases.
The body regulates its metabolism precisely and continuously, with specialized cells in the pancreas constantly monitoring the amount of sugar in the blood, for example. When this blood sugar level increases after a meal, the body sets a signal cascade in motion in order to bring it back down.
In people suffering from diabetes, this regulatory mechanism no longer works exactly as it should. Those affected therefore have too much sugar in their blood and need to measure their blood sugar level and inject themselves with insulin in order to regulate it. This is a relatively imprecise approach compared to the body’s own mechanism.
New measurements of a certain type of supernova seems to indicate that our expanding universe isn’t accelerating at all, negating any need to invoke a mysterious ‘dark energy’ to explain supernovae observations.
After several dashed predictions, quantum computing is accelerating rapidly with actual use cases and scientific breakthroughs expected within years, not decades.
NETL helped scientists at Montana State University evaluate microscopic cementing agents developed by the University that can more effectively penetrate microfractures to improve underground storage of carbon dioxide (CO2), enhance gas well efficiency and seal fluid pathways in shales fractured for natural gas recovery.
The research targeted use of a process called ureolysis-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (UICP), which produces a biomineral solution that can reduce undesired fluid flow. This could enable the more effective restimulation of previously hydraulically fractured shale formations and reduce flow through fractured rocks above storage formations.
The collaborative project involved researchers at Montana State, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and NETL and was supported by EPSCoR, a National Science Foundation program that improves research competitiveness of targeted jurisdictions and a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) program that supports Ph.D. thesis research.
Ray Kurzweil, who used to be a computer scientist at Google, is no stranger to accurate predictions. With an impressive track record, he foresaw consumers designing their own clothes from home computers by 1999 and the world’s best chess player losing to a computer by 2000. He had also predicted the widespread use of portable computers in various shapes and sizes by 2009.
His groundbreaking forecasts have consistently inspired people to push the boundaries of what is possible. Ray Kurzweil has so far made 147 predictions with 86% accuracy and has the world looking forward to the new ones with much anticipation. For his remarkable contributions and insight, the visionary was awarded the prestigious National Medal of Technology in 1999. He was also inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2022.
The renowned futurist predicts that AI will surpass human intelligence and pass the Turing test by 2029. And that by 2045, humans will merge with the artificial intelligence we’ve created, a phenomenon he calls ‘The Singularity.’ He believes this would exponentially amplify our intelligence, creating unparalleled opportunities for innovation and progress.